LA Song
by smc-27
Summary: She saw the woman kiss him and caress his cheek tenderly. She saw the way he looked into the woman's eyes and her heart broke all over again. Maybe he was crazy to think she'd actually show up. But he was still in love with her. LP Oneshot at his signing.


**A/N:** I know the idea has been done to death, but this is just a oneshot that I couldn't stop myself from writing. An alternate version to that fateful day of the book signing.

**---**

She'd never been the kind to show her emotions to those outside her world. Her family and closest friends were the only ones she ever dared to cry in front of, and even then, she'd felt more uncomfortable than she could imagine. The last thing she wanted was to have tearstained cheeks for the entire world to see, but there she was, walking down a busy street, with salty tears running down her face.

She shouldn't have still cared. They hadn't seen each other for a year, and he'd only just called her a couple days before for the first time since he was last in L.A. It had been so good to hear his voice, and to hear him say that he'd wanted to hear hers. She had tried so hard for an entire year to get over him; to be over him. But she had failed. For every reason she told herself she should be over him, she found 10 more that told her she shouldn't - the most important being that she was in love with him.

Her heart fell when she saw that woman kiss him and caress his cheek so tenderly. She saw the way he looked into the stranger's eyes and it broke her heart all over again.

Why would he call her at say he wanted her there if he was with someone else? Was he that cruel that he wanted to gloat and make her jealous? She was so proud of him - he'd gotten his dream, and she had lost hers. She had wanted to be the one next to him. Her dream had always been him. It didn't help that she was still failing in her own career, if she could even call it that. She was still toiling in the mail room, waiting for a break she knew full well would never come.

She missed him. She missed home. She missed how she'd felt before she left Tree Hill two years ago, and with each passing day, she was convinced that the decision to leave had been her undoing. If she hadn't left, she and Lucas would still be together. If she hadn't left, she'd be happy. She wasn't happy.

She felt a hand grasp her elbow, and she hoped with everything in her that it was Lucas. Maybe he'd seen her. Maybe he'd run after her.

She turned around slowly, only to see a face she'd never expected to see.

"You know, every time I see you, you're crying," he said, with that smug grin she'd despised since the first day she saw him. "Maybe it's a sign."

"Yeah, a sign that I should stop crying. Maybe then I wouldn't have to see you at all," she said bitterly.

"Come on, what's wrong?" he asked, somewhat sincerely. He'd let go of her arm, thankfully, and she rubbed the area where his hand had been, as if to rid herself of the memory of his touch.

"Nothing. I'm fine," she said coldly. She turned to walk away, wondering how this guy always showed up after Lucas had broken her heart again.

"You're not fine. You should talk about it," he pressed. Clearly he didn't know her. Anyone who knew Peyton, knew that she couldn't be pushed into talking about anything. She would talk when she was ready, but she wouldn't talk to him.

"Look, what's your name?" she asked curtly.

"It's Julian," he offered.

"OK, Julian. You don't know me, and I don't want you to. So just stop, alright?"

Maybe he was just being nice, but she didn't want that. She didn't want him. She wanted Lucas. The image of that woman kissing him flooded her mind again and a fresh batch of tears started to fall.

"Hey, I'm sorry," he said sincerely, reaching out to touch her shoulder. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"Please, just stop, OK? I don't need you to save me." She inwardly groaned that she'd even said those words. They were still sacred to her.

"So you admit you need saving?" he asked, that stupid grin returning to his face.

"Not from you," she said convincingly.

---

Maybe he'd been crazy to think she'd actually show up. But she said she would. He'd called her and even the tone of her voice indicated that she was surprised and happy that he was reaching out to her. He had made that call knowing that when he heard her on the end of the line, he'd fall in love with her again. Of course, he never stopped.

He had worked so hard for an entire year, trying to make her proud and prove to her that he could do it. Getting his novel published had always felt like his dream, and it was, to an extent. It all felt less significant without her next to him. She was his dream, and like he'd said to her in that hotel room, she was the one he wanted next to him whether his dreams came true or not.

He was scanning the crowd for Peyton's face when Lindsay came up and started talking to him about the year they'd spent together. The year he'd worked harder than ever to work on the novel that was a love letter to his soul mate. She kissed him on the cheek and it took him by surprise, so when she pulled away, he looked into her eyes, searching for an explanation. They just sparkled sapphire blue. He wished they were someone else's green ones.

"OK. You ready?" Lindsey asked her voice full of hope and excitement.

"Yeah. I guess everybody's here that's coming," he said with a sadness he knew she wouldn't recognize. He sat down and picked up the pen, hoping that Peyton was running late, or just around the corner, or hidden somewhere in the crowd.

Something in him told him that she wasn't.

He'd made a lot of mistakes where Peyton was concerned, the biggest of which was leaving her behind a year ago. But he had been stubborn and too proud to hear the words she was saying. He wasn't convinced she was over him. She couldn't be. They were Lucas and Peyton. He wouldn't give up on her. Not again.

"Lindsey, can I have a minute?" he asked frantically.

"Lucas..."

"I need a minute," he said with conviction. She nodded, afraid of whatever emotion was in his voice.

He ran past the lineup of people, checking to see if she was there, before exiting the store. He looked to his left, then to his right. That's when he saw her. She looked uncomfortable with the guy she was with, like she didn't want his hand on her shoulder, but he'd put it there anyway. He heard the words she'd just said _"I don't need you to save me."_

He walked towards her and was about 10 feet away when she saw him. Her eyes softened immediately.

"Lucas," she whispered, a sad smile breaking on her lips.

He gathered her into his arms and held her as tightly as he could. Being near her again, he knew that he was still in love with her. He pulled away, but kept his hands on her shoulders.

"Are you OK?" he asked, staring into her green eyes. He glanced quickly to the confused stranger she'd been talking to.

"I don't know," she muttered. "I mean, yeah. I don't know him, really. I just...what are you doing?"

"I thought you stood me up," he said with a grin, running his hands down her arms and holding onto her wrists.

"I was there. I just saw that girl kiss you and I thought..."

"She's my editor," he explained, cutting her off. God, how could she think he could ever want someone else?

"I'm gonna go," Julian said. He didn't get an answer from either of the blondes, so he walked off, completely confused.

"Who was that guy?" Lucas asked, concern in his voice.

"I don't even know. I've just seen him around a couple times." She intertwined her fingers with his and closed her eyes for a moment, just relishing the feeling of being in his presence again. She loved him so completely that she didn't want to ever let him go.

"I missed you so much," he said softly. He saw the relief and hope and love in her eyes, and a clam washed over him that only she could ever create in him. "I have to get back in there."

"Of course. Yeah. Go," she said hurriedly. He tugged her hand in the direction of the door, but she remained frozen in place, confused.

"Come on," he said with a smile. "You can meet Lindsey."

She rolled her eyes and wiped the last remnants of tears from her cheeks.

"Isn't this bad for your image?" she teased as he led her by the hand past the lineup of his admirers.

"I don't care," he whispered in her ear as he got back to the table.

That husky whisper just about stopped her heart.

She stood and made small talk with Lindsey while he signed books and posed for photographs, and Peyton felt a sense of pride knowing that he'd chosen her over the woman standing next to him. She could tell the look of surprise on Lindsey's face when he introduced them was caused by more than just the shock of meeting one of his book's main characters. Peyton saw the flash of disappointment in the woman's eyes. After all, Peyton knew that feeling well, and once you were hooked on Lucas Scott, it was hard to let go. She wasn't even sure it was possible.

When the last book was signed, Lucas leaned back in his chair and shook his right hand, no doubt cramped from hours of scribbling.

"Looks like we're done here," Lindsey announced, grabbing her bag. "I'm going to go talk to the manager, but Luke, I'll see you tomorrow, OK? Peyton it was great to meet you."

"You too," Peyton offered with a wave.

"Bye Lindsey," Lucas said.

"She seems nice," Peyton said as they watched the brunette disappear around a corner.

"She is a hard worker. Everything I could ask for in an editor," he said, trying to reassure her that he had no interest in the woman.

"Sooo," Peyton drawled, trying to break the awkwardness that had consumed them.

"Look, my hotel is just around the corner," he said, then noticed the smirk on her face and her raised eyebrow. "Oh. No. I didn't mean...wow."

"Lucas," she interrupted. "Let's go."

He put his hand on the small of her back as they walked out of the store, then took her hand again when they'd started walking down the street. Neither said a word. They had so much to talk about, so many issues to clear up, but for right now, this was enough.

They rode the elevator and walked down the hall the same way they'd walked down the street - silently, and holding hands. It wasn't until they had stepped into the room that he let her go, and when the door shut behind them, that one of them spoke.

"Hi," she said softly.

"Hi," he chuckled.

He stood for a moment, just looking into her eyes, almost unable to believe that she was really there. He closed the distance between them and placed his hands on either side of her face. She knew what was coming next, and took a sharp breath in anticipation. He kissed her and it was like a shock running through her. She'd wondered how she'd survived without that feeling for so long. The kiss wasn't hurried. It was chaste and soft and full of emotions. It felt to her like an apology.

"I've spent a year trying to remember what that felt like," he said genuinely. His hands were still on her face, though she was now looking to the floor. She was about to cry, and she didn't want him to see that, though she knew she couldn't hide anything from him.

"I missed you, too," she said softly, echoing his words from hours earlier.

"Hey," he said, lifting her chin so their eyes met. "What's wrong?"

"It's just been a long day," she admitted. She had wanted to say it had been a long year.

"It's been a long year," he said quietly. Her eyes widened at his words. How could he have known what she was just thinking? "What?"

"I was just thinking the same thing," she laughed.

He smirked the way that only he could, and moved away from her to sit on the end of the bed.

"How've you been, Peyton?" he asked. She moved to sit next to him on the bed after deciding that sitting in the chair in the corner of the room too closely paralleled the last night they spent together. She was silent for a moment, trying to find the best words to say. "Peyton?"

"Yeah...sorry," she said, fidgeting with the hem of her dress. "Just, if I say I've been fine, I'm lying. And if I say I've been miserable, I'm the pathetic girl who can't get over her ex-boyfriend."

He took his hand in hers once again and tried to speak without the relief showing in his voice. "I've been miserable too."

"You don't have to say that. You've had your book and coaching and Nathan, Haley and Jamie," she said, shaking her head.

"I didn't have you." He turned to face her and pulled her close to him. "I know that's my own fault because I left."

"So why did you?" she asked softly. She needed to know, but she still didn't want to. She didn't want to hear the words come from him and confirm all the things she'd lost sleep over for the past year.

"I was hurt, Peyton. You said no and I was stubborn and stupid," he explained.

"I didn't say no," she said with conviction. How he could have ever thought she'd said no was completely baffling to her. She'd made it perfectly clear that she wanted to marry him, she'd just needed time.

"It felt like you did," he said, matching her tone and pulling away from her to stand and pace in front of her. "God, Peyton. I wanted to marry you. And I know it was out of the blue, but I wouldn't have even asked if I didn't think you'd say yes. When you didn't, I just...I knew I'd lost you."

"You didn't lose me, Lucas. You could never lose me," she said, looking to her hands.

She meant those words. She'd tried for a full year to forget him. To let her heart heal and move on to someone knew. She couldn't do it. Lucas had a hold on her, and if she was being honest, she wouldn't have it any other way.

He stopped pacing and looked at her. She'd just said exactly what he'd wanted to hear for the last year. Every day he'd woken up and thought of calling her, just to hear her voice, and hoped that some how, she had it in her heart to forgive him.

He stood in front of her and leaned forward, capturing her lips as he lay her back on the bed. She didn't ask questions. She didn't stop him or protest or tell him it was a bad idea. It wasn't a bad idea. It was the way things were supposed to be. Before she knew it, her hands were on his bare chest and she was resting against the pillows, her dress discarded somewhere on the floor in the room. She hadn't thought this would happen, but being in Lucas' arms, with his lips and hands roaming her body like they used to, she'd never felt more at home.

---

Lucas woke up and reached out for her, but she wasn't next to him. His heart stopped for a moment, hoping she wasn't exacting some sort of cruel revenge. He wiped his eyes and sat up, looking frantically around the room for her. She was sitting in a chair in the corner of the room, wrapped in a sheet, with her hair beautifully disheveled.

"I thought you'd left me this time," he said with a smirk, though he knew it wasn't really a joke.

"No, I just wanted to watch you sleep for a bit," she said timidly.

"Kind of creepy, don't you think? Watching people sleep?" he teased, moving to sit on the end of the bed facing her.

"Like you've never done it before," she said with a raised eyebrow.

They sat like that for a moment, just looking at each other or the floor. He wondered what the day had meant to her. He wanted her back - he wanted to go back in time and not have left her in the first place. He wanted to tell her there wasn't anything he wouldn't do for her, and that he couldn't live without her.

She needed this. She needed him. Sitting with him now, she wasn't sure how she'd even managed to breathe without him.

"Lucas?" she asked, her voice pulling him from his thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"Ask me again." She looked into his eyes and begged him with her own.

"What?" The question took him off guard. It took a moment to register in his head and in his heart.

"Ask me again, Lucas," she pleaded.

He took a deep breath before smiling at her. The smile she gave him in return was one he wanted to see every day for the rest of his life. He moved from his place and dropped to his knee in front of her, taking her hands in his.

"Peyton, I've given you one of these speeches before, and it didn't quite turn out the way I wanted it to," he said, making her chuckle through the tears she was trying to hold back. "So I'm just going to come right out and say it. Peyton Sawyer, will you marry me?"

She didn't say a word. She just nodded and he gathered her in his arms and he heard her say the words he'd been waiting to hear for the last year.

"I love you."


End file.
